Moments
by lookitsria
Summary: A collection of Dadbrose one-shots. Randomly timed. Whatever pops into my head.
1. Chapter 1

The petite redhead came to a skidding halt in the doorway entrance to catering, her eyes darting around wildly. People literally stopped mid-bite to watch her. "Lilly," she whispered, about to enter the room when a man touched her shoulder and the sound of a child's giggles filled the hallway. The woman spun around and visibly sighed, taking the four-year-old from Joe's arms.

"Found her near make-up trying to convince Beth to let her put lipstick on," the Samoan chuckled, giving the toddler's head a little rub. "Figured I'd find one of you to return her to."

"I swear, we're here for ten minutes and they're comfortable to run off on their own," she murmured, looking at her daughter whose eyes that mirrored hers looked up at her sadly. "Didn't I teach you better than that? You gave mommy a heart attack. You can't run away without me or daddy, okay Lilly?"

Knowing she was in trouble, the little girl just gave a nod of her head as she pouted and hid her face against her mother's chest.

"Thanks, Joe," the woman told the much taller man who was still standing nearby.

"No problem, Maria."

"Have you see Jon?"

"I think he's down at ringside with Emma," he nodded. "Come on, I'll take you there."

The trio walked towards the arena and Joe even led her right through the same entrance all the wrestlers used. Once they were at the top of the ramp and Jon was in sight, the little one in her arms squirmed to be let down. She allowed the simple pleasure, watching her daughter run towards her father who was in the ring with another identical little girl, Lilly's twin sister Emma.

"He's been looking forward to this," Joe said softly beside her and she just nodded her head, watching Jon playing with his two little girls in the ring.

It was the first time Maria had allowed the girls to come to the arena since they were babies. Her relationship with Jon had never been that great, the two little blessings in her life the result of a one night stand. Their lives had been a disaster until a paternity test proved that he was the father and something had changed in him after that. Maria still could never forget the things he had said in anger.

She slowly made her way to the ring, smiling when Jon looked her way. She was the perfect distraction for Emma to launch herself onto his back and in true wrestler fashion, he sold the move with a big flop onto his belly. "Roll him over and pin him!" she called out, motioning with her arms for her daughter to push him onto his back. With her sister's help, they got their dad onto his back and Maria hit her hand against the mat for the count of three. "Winners! The Good twins!" she laughed, clapping her hands as the girls literally ran circles around their father in the ring.

Jon sat up on his elbows and shook his head. "Beat by a bunch of four-year-olds," he chuckled, making a grab for Lilly as she ran past and tickling her sides so he could hear her sweet giggles. Emma joined in on the hug-fest and the two settled down into Jon's lap as Maria watched on from the floor. He kissed both their heads before looking at Maria again. "You're staying, right?" he asked her.

Maria gave a sigh. The show ending at eleven at night was late for the little girls and she wanted to get them home way before that to keep them on their schedule. "I dunno, Jon, it ends so late."

Letting go of the girls so they could run around some more, Jon crawled over to the ropes, frowning. "I never get to see them, though," he told her in a hushed tone.

"Well whose fault is that?" she asked and immediately hated her kneejerk response. She held a hand up at his next protest. "Come over after the show and you can be there to get them up and ready for school in the morning."

The grin on his face was bright as he grabbed her face and kissed her cheek to which Maria wrinkled her nose. "Thank you," he told her before going back to playing with his girls for a bit longer before they had to leave the ring. He held both their hands on their way to the back. The rest of their visit was short and consisted of cookies from catering before Jon helped to load them up into the car. There were lots of kisses for both of them, along with the usual 'be good for mommy' speech. With the girls packed up safe, Jon went over to the driver's side window which Maria had rolled down. "I'll call when I'm there."

"You're sleeping on the couch."

"I'll take it," he smiled and gave the car door a little tap before stepping back, watching as his girls drove off.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been late when Maria arrived home with the girls. It was a Sunday which meant the day was spent with the family and she had lost track of time which had gotten them home at eleven that night. Lilly had fallen asleep in the car and she was able to get her inside and to bed with ease. Emma, however, had woken up when they were five minutes from home and was wide awake now, able to hold onto Maria's pocket as she walked inside. There was a delivery package for some clothes Maria had ordered online and she found herself in her bedroom with said package and a very wide awake little girl.

"I wanna call daddy!" the little girl exclaimed and Maria had to shush her. "Please," she said in an exaggerated whisper.

Maria handed over her cell phone. "Get up on the bed and no moving while you're talking to him, ok? And remember, he might be at work still and not answer so remember what I taught you and leave a message." The girls were brilliant with technology for being only four. Emma was able to turn the smartphone on and find the contact for Jon which was an icon with a picture of him and the girls. She clicked the button and even put it on speaker phone.

Maria heard the phone ringing as she opened the shipping bag that had been left on their doorstep and started to look at the clothes she had ordered, deciding the try them on. A loud noise came from the phone and Jon's voice even louder saying to hold on for a moment. "Hey, sorry, had to find a quiet place. What's up?"

"Hi daddy!" Emma yelled again to which Maria shot her another look to keep it down.

Jon laughed. "Hello princess. Why are you up so late?"

"I'm not sleepy and mommy is putting on a fashion show," she explained. Without Maria noticing, the little girl activated the video chat option on the phone and Jon watched as an interesting imagine filled his screen. Maria was peeling her shirt off, leaving her in her bra as she worked on her jeans and then broke open a few plastic bags to pull out the new clothes she purchased.

"A fashion show, huh?" he asked. "Kinda late for a fashion show. Are you sure you're not sleepy?" This would be a much better fashion show to watch without his daughter there, to be honest.

"No daddy, I'm not sleepy at all. I'm gonna stay up all night just like the adults do." She went on to tell him all about the day they had at grandma and grandpa's house, but Jon could only half pay attention. His eyes were glued to the little screen as Maria tried on clothes. Pulling garments over her head and then off again, making a pile of things she wanted to keep and putting the things to be returned back in the bag. He was biting his lip as she tried on a shirt with no pants, looking at herself in the mirror in front of her. "Daddy? Daddy! Helllooooo," came Emma's voice and he somewhat snapped out of it, seeing Maria's attention back on the little girl and coming over to take the phone away.

"What are you… did you turn the camera on? Emma! That's it. You're going to bed." The phone was tossed onto the bed and Jon just shook his head as he listened to the struggle that was being had with the four-year-old who had burst into full on sobs. He waited for a bit but was about to hang up when he heard a door close and soon Maria's face filled the screen. "Enjoy the show?" she asked with a smirk which made him laugh.

"Hey, your daughter turned the camera on. I wasn't about to tell her to shut it off."

"Your daughter is four and doesn't fully understand technology yet," she fired back.

"She knows how to use that phone better than I do," Jon told her.

Maria contemplated that for a moment before smirking again. "You know, you're right. She does. You should take a lesson from her some time."

"Name the time and place and I'm there," Jon smiled.

Maria could only laugh as she shook her head. "Goodnight Jon," she told him, giving him a little wave.

"Goodnight Maria," he smiled his cheeky grin at her until the screen turned black and a little 'call ended' notification popped up.


	3. Chapter 3

Drumming his fingers against his leg, the cab couldn't drive fast enough for Jon. It was Wednesday morning and he had three whole days to spend with his girls. Having Friday off was great and Saturday's show was right in town. Maria had even said she'd bring the girls to the arena for a visit, which just meant extra time with them. Looking out the window at the passing scenery, the dirty blonde chewed on his thumbnail. He never imagined looking forward to such a thing. Hell, he never imagined having kids, let alone twins, never mind actually wanting to be a part of their lives.

He straightened up as the cab took an exit off of the highway and they ventured down a tree lined road. Not that where Maria and the girls lived was bad, but he always thought it could be better. It was a condo and the girls shared a room. It was a decent size, but he wished they could have a yard with a swing set for them. Maybe a pool. He'd never broached the subject with Maria, thinking it was none of his business. He hadn't exactly earned his right to make suggestions like that about her life.

Jon grinned as the car pulled up to the building the girls lived in. Maria was sitting on the front stoop as the girls played on the grassy area under a tree. Paying the cab driver with cash, he was quick to get out and get his bags. Just as he was yanking his suitcase out of the trunk, he heard the high pitch yell of 'daddy!' followed by Maria's shout to not run in the street. Obeying their mother, the girls waited at the curb of the sidewalk for their father, jumping into his arms the second he was close enough. He knelt down on the pavement to hug them. He never thought he'd see the day where he could miss two little creatures so much.

Clearing her throat, Maria made her presence known. Jon smiled up at her as he straightened up to his full height that towered over all of them. "I'm here," he announced, his smile turning to a full on dimpled grin as the girls continued to pull and prod at him, though they barely reached his hip.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed," Maria smirked right back at him, reaching for his suitcase. "I'll take this. You take those," she told him, motioning to the twins who were literally trying to climb him at the moment. "It's almost lunch time," she added, more for the girls than for him, though his stomach suddenly growled which made his daughters laugh. Scooping them up easily, he followed Maria inside, checking out the state of place and making mental notes. Two bedrooms, a nice sized living room, dining room, and a porch where some plants sat in pots.

He noticed that Maria brought his suitcase into the girl's room and he bit his lip. Her room had been completely off limits the last few times he had come to visit. True to her word, she had made him sleep on the couch, which wasn't so bad and wouldn't have been this time had he not pulled a muscle in his back. The discomfort was worth spending time with them, though. He had a lot of making up to do, a lot of proving himself, if Maria was ever going to let him have the girls for a visit on his own.

With the girls back on the ground, they were still little bundles of energy as they ran around, wanting to show him their new toys, their newest drawings, and their reports from preschool that were sent home regularly. Sitting on the floor, he took it all in. They were in the middle of showing him the proper way to brush Barbie's hair when Maria announced lunch and the girls jumped up and scrambled to the table. "You hungry?" she asked him as he pulled himself up from the floor. "I've got stuff for sandwiches."

"Yeah, just point me in the right direction," he told her as he joined her in the kitchen.

"I've got it, don't worry. Go sit with them and make sure they take little girl sized bites and don't choke to death," she told him casually. The thought of them actually choking was enough for him not to put up a fight about her making him lunch so off he went for daddy duty. A plate with a sandwich was soon placed in front of him and he felt fingers in his hair, scratching his scalp. He couldn't help but close his eyes for a moment and let out a little groan, that scalp scratch was one of his weaknesses.

"Daddy sounds like Aunt Cindy's cat!" Emma laughed from her seat.

"He does, doesn't he?" Maria smiled, smoothing Jon's unruly curls away from his face, and went back to the kitchen to fix herself some lunch.

'Progress,' Jon thought as he watched her walk away. 'Definitely progress.'


End file.
